Take Me for What I Am
by Fight4JadeWest
Summary: She is my angel. None of the blackness within me can touch her. Can corrupt her. She is pure. She is flawless. And she is MINE.
1. Chapter 1

**My friend and I are going to be writing this together. It`s an experiment. Hope you enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I don not own Victorious. Dan Schnieder is probably afraid something like this would happen.**

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**Begins on opening night of Jade's play, Well Wishes. (Wok Star) Season 1**

**Chapter 1**

**(Jade)**

I busy myself with cleaning up backstage as the cast and crew leave in a slow, continuous trickle. An hour later they are all gone. I relish in the dark silence of the empty theater. Tonight was perfect. Beyond perfect. And I have Tori to thank.

Tori.

We had hugged. That was the closest we had ever been to each other. I shake my head to clear away the thoughts. It was Tori. Who cares? Nothing has changed.

I grab my purse off a chair and head for the door, pulling the keys to the theater out of my pocket. I am startled when Tori appears out of nowhere. She snorts when I jump in surprise.

"Tori," I say slowly. "I thought you went home."

"Oh, uh, I did. Or, I started to. I forgot my purse. "

Sure enough there it is, sitting on a chair in the back corner.

"Ok," I nod as she retrieves it. "Now you can go."

"Um, bye then," she says smiling genuinely before opening the door.

"Oh, wait Vega," I grab her wrist.

"Yeah?"

"Thanks. For everything."

"You're welcome, Jade." She is close to me. I'm reminded of our hug. Of the scent of her perfume and the heat coming off her.

Out of the blue we are kissing. My eyes squeeze shut and the blood that pounds against my eardrums echoes through my skull like the distant thunder of a coming storm. Her face is sweaty and so are her hands as they hold my waist in a death grip. Mine wrap around her neck just as hard. Our bodies are locked together and it feels as though they will never come apart. I can feel her racing heart pound in time against mine, both our sternums ready to crack from the double assault. The closeness of our hug is nothing compared to this.

When we finally rip apart Tori is gasping for breath. "Oh my God," she breaths. "What _was_ that?"

"You tell me," I say in astonishment. "I have no idea where that came from. We're girls. What the chiz? I'm dating Beck. I can't be gay. I mean, I'm not against that but, like seriously, what is going on?"

"We kissed."

No kidding. "Thanks captain obvious," I groan.

She gives me a sly look. "Don't you mean _Catherine_ obvious?"

I laugh. "Sure. Whatever Vega."

"But we–"

I cut her off. "I _don't_ want to talk about it! Go home!"

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Somehow, I make it home in one piece. In the car my thoughts were anywhere but the road. I sit in my room and can smell Tori on me, taste her lip-gloss on my mouth.

What happened? She's Tori, sweet, gentle, patient. I'm _me_. I'm jealous, dark, judgmental, angry, and I overreact worse than Cat. I still have trouble understanding what _Beck_ sees in me. What does Tori see? Does she see _anything_? Or was it the heat of the moment?

I drift off to sleep fully clothed on top of my still-made bed. In my dream, the dead butterflies on my walls came to life and attacked me. Each one had either Beck's or Tori's face.

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I wake up an hour early sweating profusely. It is still dark out and it soothes me. Grabbing fresh clothes, I head to my bathroom to take a shower. I still smell faintly like Tori's perfume.

The steam from the water curls around me as I step through the glass shower door. It's too hot. My skin immediately turns the color of a cooked shrimp. I decide I don't care.

Tori seemed so confused. Was she over it now? Was she freaking out the way I was?

Mentally, I decide not to think about her. If only it was that simple. I can still remember the gentle pressure and mild ferocity of her lips on mine. I can still remember her hands on my waist. I wish there was something else I could think about.

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School drags on slowly. I go the whole morning avoiding Tori. Eventually, however she corners me outside geometry.

"Jade," she calls sternly.

"What?" I snap back.

"We need to talk," she says quietly, still very serious. "Like, now."

"NO!" I begin to walk back towards the door to the classroom. The bell rings. I'm late.

"You can't just pretend it didn't happen, Jade," she persists.

I whip around. "Watch me," I say icily with a glare. The venom in my voice is enough to cause physical pain at the moment. I open the door and go in, leaving Tori dumbstruck in the hall.

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**So? Did we do a good job? Leave a review. Don't worry, I'm still working on "Undone." I've just been writing other stuff. Like this. :P**


	2. Chapter 2

**I'm back! My friend is too! We still write this together. She now has an account which she does nothing with. Check her out anyway! The username is QuailBibble. **

**Disclaimer: Currently, neither of us own Vicorious. But don't worry. That's all about to change...**

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**Chapter 2  
(Tori)  
**  
I leave school as bewildered as I had been coming in. Jade had ignored me all day. Had she felt what I felt in our kiss? Did she even care? Am I keeping her from moving on?

It's just confusing. Jade hates me, right? It should be that easy. What else is there to understand? There was a spark though. Its intensity remains rooted inside me, making me think more deeply.

There's nothing wrong with liking girls. Jade said it herself. She has nothing against it. Not to mention, she's _beautiful_. Anyone can see that she's dangerous but that draws me in, teases my curiosity. She's dark, forbidden, and enticing. A vampire. Like Bella to Edward, I'm pulled to her, all of a sudden hopelessly attracted to what I shouldn't have.

I was always so sure of myself. If I found something I wanted to do I'd do it. Never did I second guess myself. That is, until the day Jade West and her steel-toed combat boots came stomping into my life.

That first time I saw her, hostility flowing from her eyes like water from a faucet, was the instant things changed. I never thought _I'd_ be one to like girls. OK, that's not true. When I was in kindergarten I used to kiss girls on the playground when the teachers weren't looking. Well, technically, that's different. Everything's simpler when you're five years old. And besides, the kisses weren't _flirty_. They were innocent. The girls kissed back.

Jade hated me from the beginning. From where she stood, I had gone after her territory, kissing Beck right in front of her. Or even when I spilled coffee on him. With someone like Jade, that's stealing. She has no sympathy for thieves.

I feel like that kiss made something bloom within me. Very deep inside. It was like one of those viruses where the symptoms don't show up immediately. Now that it's had time to stew in my thoughts, in my mind, in my heart, it has consumed all of my attention.

I hop off the bus and stroll down my front path, not paying much attention to my surroundings. This causes me to trip over a plant pot by the door and drop my belongings. I scramble to collect the books spilled on the stones, and as I do, I see a black Jeep Wrangler pulling up. Jade jumps smoothly out of the front seat and starts bounding towards me.

"Are you home alone?" she asks urgently. "We need to talk."

I stand in awe looking at her, words escaping me.

"You've been avoiding me," I manage finally as Jade gracefully gathers my scattered homework in one fell swoop.

"I noticed your parents' cars aren't there. Figured now was as good a time as any to chat." she stands looking impatient for a second. "Were you planning on inviting me in or are we just going to stand out here 'till the next ice age?"

"Fine," I reply hotly. "Come in, Jade."

She pushes past me and I almost drop my stuff again. I shoot her an irritated glance that she ignores and sit down on a couch. I smirk in amusement as she awkwardly sits down next to me.

"So... Umm... About what happened..." she begins. "What did happen, exactly?"

"In case you don't recall, we KISSED," I retort.

She rolls her eyes before saying, "God. You're harder to talk to than I expected." I watch as she gets up to start pacing and begins to go on about how it shouldn't have even happened and why did it happen? And does it count as cheating on Beck? Whatever. I find it kind of hard to have a conversation when she's the only one talking.

I raise my hand meekly. "If your lecture is complete, Miss West, I think we should actually discuss what happened."

She gives me a look. "You know what, Vega?" she snaps. "Cut the wisecracks. This is serious. I can't think straight when I'm confused."

"Clearly," I mutter. "That made almost no sense."

"Yeah, well love rarely does."

_Huh!_ Did she just say _love!_Does Jade West really love me?

_"Love!"_I sputter in shock.

Her eyes widen. "Uh...I...um...I mean you know. We don't know how we feel."

"Do you love me, Jade?" I question gently.

"Umm," she flounders. "Maybe?"

"No."

"What?" she responds, confused by my firmness.

"No," I repeat. "You're right. We _don't_ know how we feel. We were tired and excited and it was _one kiss_. That doesn't... It doesn't mean anything."

There is a flash of hurt in her eyes but it vanishes, replaced by assurance. "Right. OK. Good talk. Bye Vega." she gets up.

I grab her wrist as she passes. "Really Jade?"

"What?"

"That's it?" I push. "You're just going to pretend that's the end of this?"

"It is."

"No, listen," I insist. "It's not. We have to still think about it. If we decide it _is_actually real feelings then-" I'm cut off by her shoving her lips violently against mine.

The kiss lasts for only about thirty seconds. It's still enough to send my world spinning. My racing heart begins to slow as she gives me an intense look.

"Tell _no one_, Tori," she commands. "_No one_. Got it?"

"About what?" I inquire with false innocence, proving my understanding.

"Exactly." she winks, pulling the front door open and walking out as if she owns the place.

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**A/N: I just noticed that both chapters so far have ended with Jade walking away. Weird. We should change that up a bit! **

**Anyway...Sorry this took so long! I'm not going to bore you with our explanation. **

**Reviews would be lovely cuz I always review when I read a story. I like it when people return the favor! **

**I'm also now taking story requests! Just tweet me (EganKasey), PM me, or leave the idea in a review and I might write you a story. **


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